Imagine a pedestrian bridge spanning the Scioto River in the heart of Dublin, with parks on either side, which in turn are surrounded by a series of interconnected neighborhoods filled with upscale shops, apartments and plenty of foot traffic.

This is the vision of Dublin officials, who recently took a $3.33 million step forward in the development of the city’s Bridge Street District with the purchase of 3.8 acres of land, which includes the Bridge Pointe shopping center.